At Home: Snow Plow
With the cold temperatures and heavy snowfalls across Canada last weekend, It’s no surprise that many vehicles veered off the road, crashed, or got just plain stuck in the snow. Tow truck, anyone? But one school bus driver near St. John’s, Newfoundland, found his own solution: teen power.
As the CBC reports, the bus driver became stuck in the snow during a storm in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, one afternoon late last week.
But instead of putting in a call for help, the ?driver reportedly asked [the high school] students . . . to help push his bus up a snow-covered hill.?
The record-breaking snowfall in the St. John’s area reportedly caused ?difficult? driving conditions, particularly for large vehicles.
But the school district is less concerned about wintry weather and more about student safety. As district CEO Ford Rice told reporters, ? . . . that shouldn’t have happened . . . student safety is our utmost priority.?
The bus driver has been suspended ?pending the outcome of an investigation.?
Around the World: Southern Getaway
Tired of the cold? Dreaming of a vacation in a more southerly location? Next winter’s trendiest new destination is about as far south as you can get: Antarctica.
As The New York Times reports, the Antarctica tourism market is heating up in time for the centennial of Amundsen’s and Scott’s expeditions to the South Pole (December 2011 and January 2012, respectively).
In anticipation of the anniversaries, ?hundreds of . . . tourists, adventurers and history buffs? are shelling out $40,000 or more to participate in the festivities at the South Pole.
Tours vary according to the taste of the explorer: while some will fly directly to the Pole and others will arrive by truck, a few adventurous ones ?intend to ski the exact routes of Amundsen and Scott, reading the explorers? diaries daily and blogging about the experience.? There will also be concurrent ski races, although they’ll follow different routes.
Training for the experience will be an experience in itself; for example, those who plan to race can attend a training camp in Norway, where they’ll practice ?jumping into ice holes and learning to negotiate crevasses.?
Veteran adventurers warn enthusiastic travellers that the South Pole is ?not for novices.? Regardless, It’s pretty good publicity for a locale Amundsen once called ?an awful place.?
